DNA sequence analysis and recombinant DNA technology are powerful tools in biologic research. With advances in cellular biology, genetics, and computational methods, a deeper understanding of cell function and disease is emerging. A bulk of current research activity involves efforts to understand the molecular basis of cellular biochemical pathways, i.e., the ordered series of biochemical interactions (typically among proteins) that underlie diverse cellular functions. Greater understanding of these processes will foster more rational and effective design of medicinal therapies.
The recent completion of initial phases of several genome sequencing projects has provided important new resources for understanding cellular biochemical pathways and functions, but more detail is needed to fully understand many cellular functions. For instance, analysis of biochemical pathways, as well as gene and protein functions, are typically performed with complete knowledge of all the players known to be involved in the relevant cellular biochemical pathways. Thus, the ability to simulate cellular biochemical pathways and probable interaction partners for a protein under investigation would be desirable.